Here’s the address: http://reginasimmons.com/

This will be the last post here. Goodbye!

• I’ll become an aunt for the first time (and I can’t wait!)
• My job reaches its busiest point of the year (just took a new job, so that makes it all the more exciting!)
• I have to find a new place to live

Lying in my darkened room (the power frequently went out in Cruz Verde), I pondered the next week. I looked forward to the service we would complete, but I wasn’t sure I could let my mind quiet down enough to rest. The next day, I learned that we would be using outhouses and taking showers with buckets of water.  I quickly remembered that it was a privilege to serve with my fellow trip goers and we were fortunate to be in a warm, welcoming community.

The rest of the week flew by. Outhouses gave us a chance to discuss the best methods for use. Greg Palm gave us chances to convert popular clichés like “Go Big or Go Home” into literal and confusing Spanish phrases like “Va Grande or Va Casa!” And, my camera, gave us these lasting images. Enjoy…we certainly did! (P.S. Thanks to all who helped make this trip possible.)

Our main bathroom.

The animals roamed free!

We took our elite, intramural basketball skills to the DR

Piggyback races with the little ninos of the village

Our group, in Santo Domingo

We spent several days working with the village's irrigation project...helping to water trees during the dry season.

Andrew and Greg laying block and building a wall

Eric Henager (Assoc. Prof. of Spanish at Rhodes) and Masita (one of our site coordinators)

I take summer vacations to go home and spend time with my family. I get to work with my dad on the farm. One summer, we were working…planting something or picking something…and we played the game, “what would you do if you won the lottery?”

I was impressed with my dad’s answers. I’m sure mine were selfish and egotistical and of little worth (like buying an elephant just to have as a pet.) But my dad’s were deep. He talked about building his mom a better house and making sure that she and my mom’s parents were taken care of. He talked about giving his siblings and my mom’s siblings nest eggs. He told me about charities that he’d support. And churches he’d give lots to. Then, he said, “I’d pick out about 10 people in your life and in Kevin’s (my brother) life who’ve been special to you or who’ve done something meaningful for you and I’d give them $100,000 each.”

I can’t remember my dad ever talking about what he’d buy for himself. But, that’s who he is. He thinks so often of others. Sure, he appreciates a thank you…but certainly doesn’t give for any sort of recognition. He gives because it’s who he is. My dad has taught Kevin and I what it means to be generous. No longer will I give out of requirement or guilt…I’ll learn from my dad and give through hope and love!

By the way…I had an amazing conversation with my mom this afternoon, where her generous heart sort of blew my mind. I’ll tell you about that one next time.

Please understand I’m not talking about mistakes (and their severity); I’m writing about how we treat the mistakes of others. Our mistakes have their own economy: each of us will pay a price for them, and know this: you and I will both make our share of mistakes.

It is this fact that should compel us to treat the mistakes of others differently. We have the ability to lessen the blow, to reduce the punishment, and to speed the recovery.

We can choose grace. We can choose to give a second chance (and a third, or fourth, or fifth … etc).

I’m sitting in the library now, watching the snow gather on this beautiful campus. As I scanned Facebook/Twitter feeds for updates, I saw a swarm of hostile messages directed to something happening at my place of work. Deliberate, hateful comments posted on the internet for many (if not all) to read. And, I thought of my brother’s blog. We all need to act with a little more grace.

What if we acted, tweeted, spoke with the grace that we wanted to receive? I imagine a lot of those mean and disparaging comments would cease. And, I imagine that we’d probably be a little happier and more fulfilled.

“Pick Happy.” It’s a personal mission that one of my former students has for herself. It’s deliberate and it’s actionable. And, it moves her to a better place. I hope that you’ll pick happy too!

A plea for support! (And we need it desperately!!!)

In March 2011, I have the honor of volunteering in the small town of Cruz Verde, Dominican Republic, as a member of the Rhodes College Alternative Spring Break team with a group of 20 students.  In Cruz Verde our team of students and staff will work under the umbrella of The Sister Island Project, an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting cultural, educational, and technical exchange.  The Rhodes team will work alongside the residents of Cruz Verde on service projects that these very residents have designed themselves based on the current needs in their small community.  These projects will range from renovating local school buildings and constructing playgrounds to tutoring children and addressing healthcare concerns on the island.

This year’s team consists of students from a wide range of backgrounds with a variety of academic interests and goals.  One thing we are united in, however, is our shared passion for broadening a vision of global community.  During our time in Cruz Verde, we look forward to building supportive relationships with men, women, and children who, despite our differences, have sought to forge and strengthen human connections with their global neighbors.  Our group is eager to contribute our time, energy, and resources in helping to meet community needs in Cruz Verde and, in particular, to model an ecologically responsible lifestyle for generations to come.  I have no doubt that our experiences in the Dominican Republic will radically transform the ways in which we view and interact with the world.

Our efforts to serve the community of Cruz Verde would not be possible without the support of our own families, friends, classmates, and colleagues.  In order to finance this trip, our team must fundraise over $25,000.  I ask that you would consider making a donation in support of our service efforts.  Any financial contribution, no matter the size, will help in a great way.  In the midst of hard economic times, though, I understand the difficulty of making an additional contribution beyond the general cost of living.  Whether or not you feel led to give, I ask that you would keep our team in your thoughts and prayers as we continue in our fundraising efforts, grow together, and, ultimately, engage with and serve alongside the men, women, and children of Cruz Verde.  I cannot describe how much your support is valued and appreciated by our entire team.

All donations are tax-deductible, and checks can be made out to “Rhodes College.”  Please mail all donations to:

Rhodes College
Bonner Center for Faith and Service
2000 North Parkway
Memphis, TN 38112

Alternatively, donations can be made online at https://www.rhodes.edu/gift/.  Indicate “other” from the menu on the attached link and specify “Alternative Spring Break” in the subject line.

So, when reading an excerpt of Seth Godin’s book Linchpin today and I saw this passage called “Graceful?” I thought, I’d post it. Seth’s a smart man and his words are convicting and affirming at the same time!

GRACEFUL?

There’s a never-ending worldwide shortage.

Graceful is artistic, elegant, subtle and effective. Graceful makes things happen and brings light but not heat.

Graceful doesn’t mean invisible, hiding, fearful or by the book. And graceful certainly doesn’t include hectoring, lecturing or bullying.

Audrey Hepburn was graceful. Wayne Gretzky was too.

A graceful person gets things done, but does it in a way you’d be happy to have repeated.

A graceful person raises the game of everyone nearby, causing a race to the top, not the bottom.

Graceful is the person we can’t live without, the one who makes a difference. The linchpin. Everywhere I turn, I see people bringing grace to their families, their communities, and their work.

The things is, no one is born graceful. It’s not a gift, it’s a choice.

Every day, we get a chance to give others the benefit of the doubt. Every day, we get the opportunity to give others our support, our confidence and our trust. And, yet most days, we hesitate.

There are so many things on our agenda, so many people who want a piece of us, so many things to do, so many obligations–of course, it’s tempting to merely get it done, to phone it in.

None of those shortcuts will make the impact you’re capable of making, and none of those approaches will bring you closer to those you’re here to serve.

The industrial age is ending, and a new one is beginning. It produces art instead of stuff and it rewards gracefulness.

It started on the first day of class. I was a sophomore. We were meeting in D. Rich 205 at Campbell University. Dr. Metz walks into the room and tells us to take out a piece of paper. We’re having a quiz.

Really? Really Dr. Metz? You’re gonna be one of those guys? Clearly I thought those things but was too respectful to say them aloud. I complied, got out a piece of a paper and listened to his five questions. I don’t remember the first four, though I’m sure one of the answers was DNA. It was question 5 that struck me: “What’s 2 + 2?”

Seriously Dr. Metz? We’re in college. We grew up learning that 2 plus 2 equals 4. I figured it was a trick question and I wrote down a snarky number 5, cited the book “1984.” Dr. Metz collected the quizzes, relieved the class by telling us that they wouldn’t count (his value started to climb in my head) and reviewed the answers. Again, I don’t remember the first four answers, but I’ll never forget the fifth.

Two plus two. It’s not always four. When Dr. Metz combined two large beakers full of two liters of different liquids into a separate container, he was left with about 3.97 liters of fluid. Two plus two equalled 3.97.

Then, Dr. Metz told us this (and I’m paraphrasing): My job as your professor is to teach you to learn. Your whole life, you’ve been taught that 2 +2 = 4. And, I’m telling you that it equals “it depends.” Take what you hear someone say as truth, and research it, measure it against your beliefs and call it truth when it stands up against those values. When you’re finished with this class, I want you to know and to be able to articulate why you value something as truth. This is a whole new level of learning.

A recent book called Academically Adrift shows that a staggering number of college students aren’t learning much, if anything, during college. That’s scary and disappointing, because both the professors and the students are missing out on transformational experiences.

Dr. Metz gave that quiz and that lecture over 12 years ago. It profoundly impacted me. So did his care and compassion to talk me through challenging moments as I learned to learn.